As indicated by its specific name
formosae, the Whistling Green-Pigeon was first described from Taiwan, by
Swinhoe in 1863. The male is large (35 cm) with a dark green back, inner
secondaries and tail, a lighter green throat and breast, and pale yellow
vent area with dark green streaks. The outer secondaries and primaries are
blackish and the hind-neck is light green, becoming gray on the upper
mantle. The inner wing coverts and scapulars are purplish brown, forming a
large shoulder patch. The crown is deep golden orange, the legs and feet
are red, and the bill is light blue at the base, and grayish white on the
outer half. The iris is reddish brown. The female is similar but lacks the
brown shoulder patch and golden crown.

The Whistling Green-Pigeon favors tropical
lowland evergreen forests, where it feeds mainly on fruits in the canopy.
Although little information is available on the Taiwan population, on RyukuIsland it breeds from April onwards,
and nests from early May. Typically the female lays two eggs in a frail
platform of sticks placed up to 3 m. above the ground. The call of the
Whistling Green-Pigeon has been described as "poh poh peh", with the last
note higher pitched.

The Whistling Green-Pigeon is considered
near-threatened. It occurs only in the RyukuIslands, the northern Philippines
and Taiwan. The Taiwan subspecies formosae has a brighter
golden-bronze crown and is smaller and brighter overall than the Ryuku Is.
subspecies. It is resident year-round, and is uncommon and local in
suitable habitat.

References: Handbook of
Birds of the World Vol. 4; A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Mackinnon
and Phillipps); 100 Common Birds of Taiwan (Wild Bird Society of Taipei); N.
J. Collar, “Endemic
subspecies of Taiwan birds—first impressions”, in Birding ASIA, Number 2,
December 2004